Cat Deafness

[Janeyk]

My cat Pepper is 90+% deaf and my late Schui was completely deaf.  You can usually tell if you do the clapping behind them and if they never respond to their name you'll know.  I know that Pep can hear slightly because if I shout or call in a high pitched voice he will turn his head (he's also blind).  Schui rarely spoke only when he was on garden patrol which he did daily for a few minutes and his call was very loud and peculiar.  Pepper is also very vocal.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Second everything that Sam has said LOL

However if your cat is elderly she maybe is or has gone deaf and they do shout a lot. As Sam says they feel vibrations so thats a way to get them to know you are there. They also can lose their hearing partially in various frequency ranges just like humans.

One of my cats who must have been around 14 at the time but had only bbeen with me a year, got taken specially to the vets cos I thought he ws deaf. Keys were rattled behind hin, clapping and calling with no resonce and wears were looked in and nothing seen and he was preonounced as deaf by the vet.

A year on or so I suddenly decided to call him by his old name, cos I had been told he didnt respond to it by previous owner and I was astounded cos he certainly responde and Franta Napoleon was certainly not deaf 

[Sam (Fussy_Furball)]

Firstly:

How old is she?  Is she white?


•Test. Albinism is common with deaf cats. An albino cat will have pure white (no other coloring, not even one hair) fur, pink skin and blue eyes.

The First Clap Test. When your cat isn't looking, clap once loudly. If the cat reacts, it's not deaf. This test can be magnified if the cat is asleep. If it doesn't keep reading.

Exceptions, older cats who have had to deal with loud noises in their lives may not react to the first clap.

The Second Clap Test. Clap loudly repeatedly. If your cat didn't respond to the first clap, then clap repeatedly for a few seconds. Even a cat who is good at ignoring people will eventually look your way to see what the fuss is about.
 
The Stomp Test. If your cat does not respond to the clap tests, stomp on the ground. Deaf cats will respond to this test with the same 'what the hell' look as a hearing cat would respond to the clap test.

The Vocal Test. This doesn't mean scream at your cat. Instead, listen for your cat meowing. Deaf cats tend to be either a lot more vocal than other cats OR not very vocal at all. If they are vocal they will not sound like an 'average' cat would sound. They will sound off key.


NOTE:  when doing the clap test don't be too close to your cat as she may react due to feeling the vibrations in the air through her fur / whiskers.

Remember:  Cats are expert at being deaf when it suits them .... selective hearing is very common.  All my gang have perfected the art of totally ignoring me until it suits them to hear.  They will ignore me calling them if they are lying in the sun.  However, they can hear the fridge door open from the bottom of the garden!

[liquorice]

Hello

My cat doesn't seem to come when I call her, I had some tuna the other day and normally if I call out fish etc she comes, but now no go. I tried saying her name right by her and she does not turn. I clicked my fingers by her and she does not twitch. She has developed a loud meow and somebody said on the forum that she may be training us to hear her?

Any tips or ideas would be great!!!

Thanks